Cape Town — South African icon and Springbok rugby captain, Siya Kolisi, has shown his class yet again after he sent a message of support to a young boy who got injured playing football.
The boy is the son of media personality, Basetsana Khumalo.
Khumalo revealed that her son, Nathi, suffered an Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injury last year while playing soccer and reached out to Siya for a message of support.
Siya suffered a similar injury in April this year and it out his World Cup hopes in jeopardy but he recovered after just four months to lead the Springboks to their 4th World Cup title.
Basetsana posted a video to her Instagram timeline where she revealed the message Siya sent to Nathi. In the video, he encouraged Nathi to stay strong, to lean on his family and that he will come back stronger to play sports again.
“Hey Nathi, Siya here. I just want to wish you all the best with your surgery. I hope it goes well and I’m o sorry about your injury. It’s one of those things we have to deal with as sportsmen, especially for you at school where you’re supposed to enjoy it, and I know you’re close to your last years.” he said.
“Stay strong man, stay positive and keep on working hard, and lean on your family who love you dearly, and that’s why I’m sending this message, Your mom is thinking of you, your whole family is thinking of you, they are with you.”
“Take as much time as you need to get through what you are going through and lean on those who love you and you will get another opportunity to play again and you can work as hard you can to get back strong, and you will play again and enjoy it again. I’m thinking of you, I’ve been there too and it is a tough situation, but lean on the ones that love you and stay strong,” he concluded.
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Basetsana gave some background on the injury and revealed when she reached out to Siya, he responded within a day, calling him “one of a kind”.
“Last year, our son Nathi who was in grade 11 was playing soccer and just as he was scoring a goal he tore his ACL. He loves his sport and is brilliant at it, whether it’s soccer, basketball, rugby, athletics. He was gutted, I was inconsolable. The prognosis was that he will not be able to be back on the sporting field for 10 months, so basically he has not been able to play sports during his matric year.”
“I asked @rachelkolisi to ask @siyakolisi to send him a message of encouragement. In less than a day Nathi received the message and it helped him dig deep into his resolve to face this challenge head on. That’s the measure of the man that is our Captain and thank you once again Rachel. You both are one of a kind. 🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽 Blessings to your family. ♥️”
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Picture: Instagram/@siyakolisi
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Compiled by Matthew Petersen
